Freedom To Lead

Shepard Fairey, creator of OBEY GIANT and lately, made even more famous for his Barack Obama "Hope" poster, has conjured up another piece of illustrated portrait poster in his typical starkingly stylistic method. While the aforementioned Obama poster was created in support of Obama's presidential camppaign (and arguably, it did more than its predicated part), this latest piece, a strikingly colorful portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi, with dove imagery at her heart, propaganda-esque sun-rising background and “FREEDOM TO LEAD” as the slogan, actually serves to, in Shepard's own words, "to raise awareness of her on-going house arrest and the oppressive nature of the military regime ruling Burma". Prints of this poster are available for download and purchase at the OBEY GIANT site at thirty five bucks and the proceeds from the sale will go to benefit the Human Rights Action Center and The U.S. Campaign for Burma. For more on the background of Aung San Suu Kyi's ongoing predicament, check out The U.S. Campaign for Burma, Human Rights Action Center (where a letter template addressed to both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, written to effect the passing of the Renewal of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act )and Causecast.

Happy Chinese Internet Maintenance Day

Today, 4th of June, is... Why yes, many Chinese online communities (some obediently while some in retaliation to the latter, did it with their tongues firmly in cheek) had come to call it the "Chinese Internet Maintenance Day". But more importantly, and really, the core of the day, today is the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen Square Protest in 1989. Earlier this week the government blocked access to a number of popular western websites, in what was widely seen as way of controlling access to information about the events at Tiananmen Square. Among the sites that were screened out were photo-sharing website Flickr, Microsoft's Hotmail email service and the popular online messaging site Twitter. A number of other sites appear to have gone down over recent days, however, in a move that may be part of an ad hoc anniversary protest online. According to Chinese media blog Danwei, the music-sharing service VeryCD has been taken down, as well as Fanfou, a local version of Twitter. But rather than simply fail to load, which would be typical for websites blocked by the firewall, many of the sites are now carrying messages saying that they are closed for maintenance. It is not clear whether any of the sites took down their services as a result of government pressure: most have had previous trouble with the authorities in Beijing, and reports suggest that many sites were told that they would face serious consequences if they published anything relating to the events of 4 June 1989. But it was also suggested that the phrasing used by some of the websites indicates a subtle attack on the government. While deliberate government action cannot be ruled out, more than 300 Chinese sites appear to have posted increasingly blasé maintenance messages on the anniversary. "The Fanfou server is undergoing technical maintenance. Service is expected to resume before dawn on 6 June," said one message. On dictionary website WordKu.com, its owners said they had taken the site down for Chinese Internet Maintenance Day. Blog hosting service Bullog.org, meanwhile, says it has gone "on strike" for the day, and Wuqing.org carried a message saying: "I, too, am under maintenance!" Internet users in China often deploy subtle methods to criticise the government without falling foul of the law. For the kids who knows shit about the ordeal, the gates of wiki is always there for you, with one of them held right open in the link up there. In retrospect, one can't help but feel the bewilderment at "the times they are changing". Months ago, I've been picking up the mutters and whispers at the back alley of many Chinese Forums etc, some tell-tale legends about how wearing Sport Jerseys sporting the number "20" will get them detained by the Chinese Authorities. Is it real? Guessed we might have a hard time verifying that, but seeing how the internet generation launched their very much subtle yet bogglingly effective digs at the Chinese Authorities, it seems that the Chinese, a sure-fire representative of the World-At-Large (what with their sheer population), though none the sensible than anybody everywhere else, are showing their collective consciousness. And it glows. In the meantime, let's take a quick peek at the "affected areas". Swallowed by the very flag that you are raising. How meaningfully ironic.. In the rowdy streets of Hong Kong, a "Toy Soldier" reminds all of the military might. Photos via telegraph.co.uk

Global Warming Rocks

Browsing through the illustrations from MYDEADPONY, this particular image detonated an earlier entry that got rigged back in 2007. I happened to chance upon this poster in the corporate alleys of SINgapore.

"Between A High, Solid Wall And An Egg That Breaks Against It, I Will Always Stand On The Side Of The Egg."

An excerpt from the infamous yet brilliant Award Recipient Speech delivered by Haruki Murakami, one of the greatest writer of our time, when he collected the much coveted Jerusalem Prize in Israel last month. "I have only one thing I hope to convey to you today. We are all human beings, individuals transcending nationality and race and religion, fragile eggs faced with a solid wall called The System. To all appearances, we have no hope of winning. The wall is too high, too strong - and too cold. If we have any hope of victory at all, it will have to come from our believing in the utter uniqueness and irreplaceability of our own and others' souls and from the warmth we gain by joining souls together."

The Spy Who Love Us

"Big Brother in the form of an increasingly powerful government and in an increasingly powerful private sector will pile the records high with reasons why privacy should give way to national security, to law and order, to efficiency of operation, to scientific advancement and the like." - Justice William O. Douglas. Well-quoted by the Torrentspy at their closing address. A bitter farewell to Torrentspy, the spy who love us.

H Is For Hypocrite/Hypocritical

Some excerpt from 林奕华's article on the leading Hong Kong paper, Ming Pao. Thought-provoking commentaries on the increasingly notorious tabloid news of the year, with pointers listed in an alphabetical order. H is for Hypocrite/Hypocritical 「虛偽」兩隻字在報章頭條上被放大，首先使人深思的，倒不是被它們指控的當事人（阿嬌）有幾表裏不一、言不由衷，而是兩隻字被看到的背景，以及從中引伸出來的定義。 如果我們都能明白，及實事求是地接受一份報章可以在新聞版道貌岸然，在風月版卻是「大滾友」，那麼，要求一個廿六七歲的女藝人徹頭徹尾是童話中的仙子或公主，便是選擇性地提出指控。因為，藝人明顯是娛樂工業一部份，「童話」的存在是補償現實中不能達成的美夢，只有兒童（天真）或思想不成熟的人（幼稚）才會相信看似童話人物的藝人是活在現實世界中的卡通人物。 為什麼有些人可以一邊如此世故，同時又如此無知？抑或，無知不過是一種偽裝，為的是開脫自己的鋤弱扶強？以譴責阿嬌「虛偽」為例，只要認識問題的本質，任何人都知道她的「虛偽」只是服膺虛偽的娛樂制度，甚至是媒體制度——「她」的「純情」，難道不是由這些制度按照市場需求而塑造？大眾渴望她永遠保持貞潔，但在渴望背後又隱藏着對她的性幻想——何嘗不是出於充滿吊詭和抑壓的慾望？ 不去反思自己的矛盾，偏去怪罪一個平日盡量替大眾「圓夢」，卻因一次意外而打碎集體幻想的藝人「虛偽」，請問是誰的不誠實和說一套做一套對社會造成更大的誤導和影響？ 即便阿嬌真是「虛偽」，她「口不對心」的理由已是人所共知，但在這時候還以道德之名搖旗吶喊要她「全盤交代」者，目的卻是希望消費過程中更多細節（甚至謀利），那就更是典型賊喊捉賊，真的很虛偽。

Chicken Little Moment Of The Day

A U.S. intelligence satellite has lost power and could fall to Earth sometime in February or March, a government official said on Saturday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the spy satellite can no longer be controlled and it was not known where on the planet it might come down. "Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause."

Dreaded Drama Of The Day

The Dreaded Doctor Chee Strikes Again! This time at both the Myanmar Embassy and the Istana, which of course, happened to be his final destination, as he got arrested by the Singapore Police for "staging an unlawful demonstration at the Istana Park facing the main entrance of the Istana". The below drama got unfold, according to this article at the SDP site... SDP's chairman, Mr Gandhi Ambalam, began to read out the letter of petition, "Dear Sir, It is with disgust that we learn about the murderous assault on the Burmese people..." Before he could finished reading the first sentence, the staff abruptly interrupted him and said, "No. We cannot accept this petition." He then turned his back and walked straight back to the embassy.

"Shot Dead Trying To Show The Truth In Burma" That's The Title Of The Video.

And so it seems, that Kenji Nagai, was shot deliberately, according to thisTimesonline article, which also backed up their claims, when they provided the youtube video below.

The Casualty That Matters

Easily, the photo of the year, for the devoted Japanese photojournalist, Kenji Nagai, at the cost of his life. As in the headlines... Dodging the bloodstained sandals and the panic-stricken masses who fled troops near Sule Pagoda in the centre of the Burmese capital Rangoon yesterday, Kenji Nagai kept his camera rolling, recording vital footage of Burma's closed society and providing a lifeline to the outside world for the protesting monks and civilians who were risking their lives for much-needed change. Then, in one dreadful moment, the Japanese video journalist took a bullet in the chest – almost certainly from the gun of a Burmese soldier.

A Monk's Last Stand

A monk stands after being halted by riot policemen and military officials while he and others attempted to enter the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon Sept. 26, 2007. As many as 200 maroon-robed monks were arrested outside the gilded Shwedagon as the Buddhist priesthood, the former Burma's highest moral authority, went head-to-head with the might of a military that has ruled for an unbroken 45 years.

PacNet Wins.

From the Straits Times. ANIME distributer Odex has lost a court bid to force Pacific Internet to reveal names of subscribers who allegedly downloaded pirated versions of the Japanese cartoons. The Subordinate Court handed down its decision in chambers on Thursday and no details were made public. Pacific Internet (PacNet), which opposed the Odex action, would only say that it 'respects the rights of intellectual property owners and at the same time, also believes in protecting the privacy of all our subscribers'. The Straits Times understands one reason for District Judge Ernest Lau's decision is that he believes Odex was not the right party to make the application, despite having the go-ahead to prosecute on the behalf of the Japanese anime studios. Odex is demanding the names of up to 1000 PacNet downloaders. A company spokesman said it will consult the rights owners before making its next move but it was likely to appeal. It has 14 days to do so. The ruling on Thursday came as a surprise given that Odex had successfully obtained Court orders to get SingNet and StarHub to reveal names of their downloaders. Different judges ruled on those cases, and both internet service providers declined to say what arguments they presented in court. In light of the PacNet decision, a StarHub spokesman said on Thursday that it's 'assessing our options ...given the different decisions rendered by the court'. But the deadline for lodging an appeal has expired for StarHub and SingTel. I bet they will.

WikiScanned

In this post-wikipedia world, since the creation of the omnipotent online public encyclopedia in 2001, it must be much foretold of what was uncovered now when an American student, Virgil Griffith, created WikiScanner, a software program that reveals who edited Wikipedia entries via a system where it scans the I.P address and cross-references it with the I.P. directory. But still, the truth kicks ass... Big time. - The Vatican edits Irish Catholic politician Gerry Adams page - In the 9/11 Wikipedia article, the NRA added that “Iraq was involved in 9/11” - Scientology removes criticism and negatives article from Scientology page - Dog breeding association deletes whole paragraphs about fatal attacks by dogs on humans - US Republican Party changes the "Post-Saddam" section of the Baath Party article to a different account of the war, changing the language from "US-led occupation" to "US-led liberation" - Portuguese government removes entries about Prime Minister’s scandals - British Conservative Party removes negative references of its MPs and deletes paragraph of the party’s old policies - MSN Search is “a major competitor to Google”. That’s what MSN added to their page - BBC changes Blair's drink from coffee to vodka and his workout from the gym to the bedroom. Someone from the BBC also changes Bush’s page, changing the name from ”George Walker Bush” to “George Wan*** Bush” And that's just a handful amongst other revelations which had already caused much ripples harbouring an upcoming media storm. Kudos to Virgil, for making my (and numerous others who are lazy but nonetheless bound with an otherwise insatiable thirst for knowledge)favourite encyclopedia a more reliable one.

Rage Against ODEX

Amidst the chaos of the, now infamous, Odex's case against the anime download community, brain juice has been squeezed, as creativity live fast before it dies hard... Here's one of the design in the T-shirt campaign done in the spirit of Singapore anime community...

Y.ah.oo?

Yahoo buys del.cio.us. Flickr. del.cio.us. Who's next?

"Strong The Torrents Are."

Taken from the press release of MPAA. BitTorrent Founder and CEO Bram Cohen and Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman announced today that the motion picture industry and BitTorrent, Inc. are collaborating with the goal of inhibiting film piracy. Bram Cohen developed a revolutionary technology for websites to make large content files available on the Web and that technology is often used by others illegally to distribute movies and television shows. Today Cohen confirmed BitTorrent, Inc.’s commitment to removing links that direct users to copies of pirated content owned by MPAA companies from its search engine at BitTorrent.com. The announcement today is historic in that two major forces in the technology and film industries have agreed to work together and proactively identify ways to limit access to infringing material available via search engines like the one at BitTorrent.com and to promote constructive innovation in this area. “BitTorrent is an extremely efficient publishing tool and search engine that allows creators and rights holders to make their content available on the Internet securely,” said Cohen. “BitTorrent, Inc. discourages the use of its technology for distributing films without a license to do so. As such, we are pleased to work with the film industry to remove unauthorized content from BitTorrent.com’s search engine.” Cohen said BitTorrent.com will remove links that direct users to pirated content owned by MPAA companies from its search engine. Yeah, right. As if someone out there actually uses the Bittorrent.com's search engine. The Great Age of Piracy are upon us, (hey that sounded just like the opening of the anime "One Piece") and there's no way denying it. For example, the Swedish website, PirateBay.net, which continues to be defiant in the face of legal threats, argues that since it is in Sweden, the DMCA (Digitial Millennium Copyright Act) does not apply to it and is un-enforceable.

Grokster Closes

Grokster closes...while providing some, erm, well-meaning educational links about copyrights. Seriously.

Paranoia Down Under

Chinese defector Hao Feng Jun has provided further alleged evidence about the claims of surveillance and monitoring of Australian citizens and residents by China. Mr Hao told Lateline two weeks ago when he came into Australia on a tourist visa that he smuggled a computer file carrying hundreds of Chinese security documents that he had secretly downloaded from his police computer... ...A second Chinese defector, former diplomat Chen Yonglin, backs Mr Hao's claims. Mr Chen again maintained the existence of the Chinese 6-10 security office that defecting policeman, Mr Hao, had previously told Lateline he had worked for in China. "Yes, 6-10 Office was established in 1999 on June 10," Mr Chen said. "That was established to control the Falun Gong organisation and, in my view, to persecute Falun Gong practitioners." Mr Chen says it is common knowledge among Chinese officials, diplomats and consular offices that the 6-10 Office exists. "Every diplomat working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knows that existed, yes, 6-10," Mr Chen said. As unbelievable as it sounds, paranoia and suspense has definitely been kick into high gear down under.